Box, in particular folding box

ABSTRACT

A box ( 1 ) is provided with a lid ( 2   a ) for closing an opening ( 3 ), and also with at least one side flap ( 5   a,    5   a ′) hinged on one side wall of the box. The side flap is flapped into the opening ( 3 ) in the closed state of the lid so that it is located under the lid. In order to indicate that the box has been opened for the first time, at least one guarantee tongue ( 6 ) is pivotably hinged on the lid, the guarantee tongue being located in the side flap over a retaining opening ( 7 ). The guarantee tongue has a predetermined breaking point ( 8 ) and is able to be pushed out of the plane of the lid, through the retaining opening and into a retained position. The outer contour of the guarantee tongue ( 6 ) and that of the retaining opening ( 7 ) are matched to one another such that, when the lid is opened in the retained position, the guarantee tongue is caught in the retaining opening and the predetermined breaking point tears.

The invention relates to a box, in particular a folding box, as per the preamble of claim 1. Boxes of this kind, having a preferably cuboidal box body, have been known and commonly used for a long time as recloseable packagings, for example, for medicines, cosmetics or any other desired contents. The side flaps, which can be pushed into the opening, provide the box on the one hand with stability and on the other hand also with protection against the penetration of contamination.

One problem with such conventional boxes is the guarantee function, that is the indication that the lid has been opened for the first time. There are already numerous known guarantee systems, in which a predetermined breaking point has to be severed for example in order to open the lid for the first time or a guarantee strip has to be torn off. A simple variant of a guarantee function consists for example in a seal being adhesively bonded over the closed lid, it being necessary to break open the seal to open the lid. However, in all these cases, additional adhesive bonding operations are necessary, said adhesive bonding operations complicating and increasing the expense of the manufacture of the box. Furthermore, the guarantee systems are in many cases not easy for the consumer to handle. It is therefore an object of the invention to create a box of the type mentioned at the beginning, in which opening for the first time is indicated in a simple manner, without the lid having to be adhesively bonded or sealed. It should be as simple as possible to erect and fill the box. Furthermore, no additional components should be required to manufacture the box and the consumer should be able to open the box in the usual way. This object is achieved according to the invention by a box having the features in claim 1.

The guarantee tongue, which is hinged in a pivotable manner on the lid, is pushed out of the plane of the lid, through the retaining opening in the side flap and into a retained position. This can be carried out easily by machine once the box has been filled and closed. The configuration of the outer contour of the guarantee tongue on the one hand and the retaining opening on the other means that it is not possible to lift or pivot open the lid without tearing the predetermined breaking point when the guarantee tongue is located in the retained position. This anchoring principle exploits the fact that an anchoring element—such as the guarantee tongue in this case—can be guided through an opening only in a particular relative position. This principle is known for example also in belt buckles. In order to open the lid for the first time, only a slightly greater effort is required to overcome the resistance of the predetermined breaking point. Subsequently, the box can be reclosed and opened as often as desired.

The guarantee tongue is advantageously cut directly out of the material of the lid. This produces no additional material costs and it is generally necessary to perform cutting operations on the blank anyway. In certain cases, it would also be conceivable, however, to fasten a separate guarantee tongue to the lid. The guarantee tongue is advantageously hinged on the lid via a predetermined breaking line, which is in particular perforated. The predetermined breaking line at the same time forms the hinge fold. The predetermined breaking point could in certain cases also be arranged at a different location.

The guarantee tongue is preferably arranged on one side of the lid such that a side edge of the guarantee tongue coincides with a side edge of the lid. In this way, the surface of the lid is somewhat reduced only at the edge once the guarantee tongue has been torn off. It is clearly also advantageous, however, when the retaining opening located underneath is located in an edge zone of the box, because this makes it easier as a whole to deform the guarantee tongue into the retained position on account of the box rigidity. Depending on the configuration of the box, the guarantee tongue could however also be arranged at a different location on the lid.

It is particularly advantageous for a respective guarantee tongue to be arranged on two opposite sides of the lid. This ensures that the lid can be lifted not just on one side without tearing the predetermined breaking point. Furthermore, this ensures a certain symmetry when the lid is anchored. In the case of relatively small lids, for example on the end face of a cuboidal box, just a single guarantee tongue may be sufficient, however.

A guarantee tongue having a trapezoidal form has proved to be particularly advantageous. This is hinged on the lid by the shorter parallel side of the trapezoid. A good anchoring effect can be achieved via the longer parallel side of the trapezoid. Of course, the guarantee tongue can also have other contours in the context of the solution according to the invention.

The outer contour of the guarantee tongue can be identical to the outer contour of the retaining opening, although this is not absolutely necessary. Thus, other pairings of outer configurations would also be conceivable, it being possible to achieve a good anchoring effect in the retained position therewith.

Further advantages can be achieved when the retaining opening is cut out of the side flap such that a hinge section hinged on the side flap remains in the retaining opening, it being possible to push in said hinge section together with the guarantee tongue. This has the advantage that no waste material remains when the retaining opening is cut or punched out. Furthermore, the hinge section located under the guarantee tongue protects the predetermined breaking point, so that the latter does not tear prematurely when the box is handled. Finally, the hinge section, which is visible after the guarantee tongue has been torn off, also fulfills a guarantee function, in that it makes it easier to see that the pack has been opened for the first time. This effect could be further enhanced by an appropriate signal color. Of course, the hinge section protects the pack from the penetration of contamination after the pack has been opened for the first time.

In most cases, it is advantageous when a respective side flap is arranged on opposite sides of the box opening and when the lid has two guarantee tongues, each of which cooperates with a retaining opening in each side flap. The side flaps are in this case advantageously dimensioned such that they partially overlap in the folded-in state. Of course, the box can also have two openings, each of which is closed in the same way with a lid. It is up to the consumer to decide which side of the box he will open.

The lid can be hinged on a side wall and have an insertion tongue. This ensures that the lid remains in a closed position even after opening for the first time. The guarantee system according to the invention would in principle also be conceivable in other kinds of lid, however, for example on a hooded lid.

The box may be a folding box produced from a single blank of material by folding and adhesive bonding operations. More complicated boxes made of a plurality of blanks would also be conceivable. The box can consist of cardboard or laminated cardboard. Plastics material or metal would also be conceivable. What is important is merely that the guarantee tongue can be pushed in such that it remains in the retained position.

In certain cases it would also be conceivable for the guarantee tongue to be arrested in the retained position by a blocking tab assigned to the side flap and/or a side wall. Such a blocking tab can prevent the guarantee tongue being reset into the plane of the lid on account of recovery properties of the material, in which case the guarantee function would be canceled. Like the above-described hinge section, the blocking tab could likewise be cut out of the side flap. However, it must be hinged on a side wall of the box or else on a side wall of the retaining opening such that, when the guarantee tongue is pushed in beyond the retained position, it first of all pivots away and then overlaps the guarantee tongue.

Further advantages and individual features of the invention emerge from the following description of exemplary embodiments and from the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1: shows a blank for a box according to the invention before it is erected and adhesively bonded,

FIG. 2: shows a perspective illustration of the box produced from the blank according to FIG. 1, with the lid open and side flaps flapped out,

FIG. 3: shows a different side perspective of the box according to FIG. 2,

FIG. 4: shows a perspective view from above of the box according to FIG. 2,

FIG. 5: shows the box according to FIG. 2 with the side flaps flapped in,

FIG. 6: shows the box according to FIG. 5 with the lid inserted,

FIG. 7: shows a perspective detailed illustration, in section, of a guarantee tongue in the retained position,

FIG. 8: shows a plan view of a guarantee tongue in the retained position,

FIG. 9: shows a plan view of an alternative exemplary embodiment of a retaining tongue, and

FIG. 10: shows a perspective illustration, in section, of a further exemplary embodiment of the invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the blank, generally designated 14, has various individual sections, which form the side walls, the side flaps and the lids of the box. The individual sections are delimited from one another by scoring formations 16. These later form the fold lines when erecting the box. In the present case, the box consists of the four side walls 4 a, 4 b, 4 c and 4 d, an adhesive flap 13 being arranged on the side wall 4 a. The box is provided with two lids 2 a and 2 b, which are arranged on the side walls 4 c and 4 a, however, such that they are hinged on diametrically opposite sides on the erected box. Each lid is provided with an insertion tongue 12 a and 12 b. The side flaps 5 a, 5 a′ and 5 b, 5 b′ in each case are arranged on the side walls 4 b and 4 d.

The guarantee tongues 6 on the two lids are in the form of trapezoids, wherein the oblique sides of the trapezoid are delimited by the cut lines 15. Cut lines also extend partially on both sides of the insert lids 12 a and 12 b. The shorter parallel side of each trapezoid is formed by a perforated line 17.

On the side flaps, hinge sections 11 are cut out by cut lines 15, said hinge sections likewise remaining connected to the side flap via a scoring formation 16, however. These hinge sections subsequently form the retaining opening 7. This is clearly likewise trapezoidal, in a manner corresponding to the guarantee tongues 6.

The material blank 14 according to FIG. 1 is erected in a known way to form a cuboidal box 1 and adhesively bonded, as is illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 4. The adhesive flap 13 is in this case adhesively bonded to the side wall 4 d. The lid 2 b is already inserted and in this case actually forms the base of the box. The lid 2 a is pivoted up and the two side flaps 5 a and 5 a′ are also flapped out, so that the opening 3 of the box (FIG. 4) is exposed.

Once the box has been filled, for example with an ampoule and with an information leaflet, the two side flaps 5 a and 5 a′ are flapped into the opening 3. The side flaps partially overlap one another in this case and in many cases they are supported from below by the contents of the pack. This interposition is illustrated in FIG. 5. The guarantee tongues 6 on both sides of the lid 2 a are still located in the plane of the lid. Similarly, the hinge sections 11 in the side flaps are still located in the plane of the side flaps.

Finally, according to FIG. 6, the insert lid 2 a is closed. In order to activate the guarantee function, a push-in force P has to be exerted on the two guarantee tongues 6 or on the hinge sections 11 now located thereunder, until the guarantee tongues are located in the retained position.

This situation is illustrated in FIG. 7. The guarantee tongue 6 is pushed into the inside of the box about the predetermined tearing line 8 and into the retained position RP. The hinge section 11 located thereunder also performs this movement, but is deflected about the scoring formation 16. The guarantee tongue 6 is in this case deflected out of the plane of the lid 2 a and so its side edge 10, which corresponds to the longer parallel side of the trapezoid, no longer coincides with the side edge 9 of the lid. The bending out of the hinge section 11 now exposes the actual retaining opening 7.

The retaining function of the guarantee tongue 6 can be seen immediately from the plan view according to FIG. 8. The retaining tongue has a maximum width b, which also corresponds to the width of the retaining opening 7 located thereunder. The outer corners 18 of the guarantee tongue 6 are located in the retained position RP now underneath the side flap located thereunder or outside the retaining opening 7. Pivoting up of the lid 2 a in this position thus has the effect that the guarantee tongue 6 is wedged in the retaining opening 7 and so the predetermined tearing line 8 finally tears. The trapezoidal form of the guarantee tongue 6 in this case reinforces this anchoring effect. An extreme position of the guarantee tongue 6 is illustrated in dot-dash lines at 6 max, the guarantee tongue being pivoted through 90° out of the plane of the lid 2 a.

An alternative exemplary embodiment of a guarantee tongue 6 is illustrated in FIG. 9, said guarantee tongue having an approximately mushroom-shaped outer configuration. The retaining opening 7 located thereunder has the same configuration. Pushing in the guarantee tongue 6 into the retained position RP similarly brings about anchoring of the outer corners 18 in the retaining opening 7. In the present exemplary embodiment, the guarantee tongue 6 is not hinged on the lid 2 a via the predetermined tearing line 8, but via a scoring formation 16, in a similar manner to the hinge sections 11. The predetermined tearing line is arranged at a distance from this scoring formation. This could also extend, for example, obliquely with respect to the scoring formation 16 in order to support the tearing effect.

FIG. 10 shows a further variant, in which, however, contrary to the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 7, the hinge section is missing. Instead, there is a blocking tab 19, which is likewise cut out of the material of the side flap 5 a′ but which is hinged on the side wall 4 b. When the guarantee tongue 6 is pushed in, it is pivoted in beyond the retained position RP until the blocking tab 19, which is initially located under the guarantee tongue, moves above the guarantee tongue and arrests the latter in the retained position RP when springing back. In certain cases, it would of course also be conceivable to arrange both a hinge section and a blocking tab within the available surface of the retaining opening. 

1. A box (1), in particular a folding box, having a lid (2), preferably having an insert lid, for closing an opening (3), and also having at least one side flap (5) hinged on one side wall (4) of the box, said side flap (5) being flapped into the opening in the closed state of the lid and being located under the lid, wherein, in order to indicate that the box has been opened for the first time, at least one guarantee tongue (6) is pivotably hinged on the lid (2), the guarantee tongue being located in the side flap (5) over a retaining opening (7), having a predetermined breaking point (8) and being able to be pushed out of the plane of the lid (2), through the retaining opening (7) and into a retained position (RP), and wherein the outer contour of the guarantee tongue and that of the retaining opening are matched to one another such that, when the lid is opened in the retained position, the guarantee tongue is caught in the retaining opening and the predetermined breaking point (8) tears.
 2. The box as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guarantee tongue (6) is cut out of the lid (2) and wherein said guarantee tongue is hinged on the lid via a predetermined breaking line, which is in particular perforated.
 3. The box as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guarantee tongue (6) is arranged on one side of the lid (2) such that a side edge (10) of the guarantee tongue coincides with a side edge (9) of the lid.
 4. The box as claimed in claim 1, wherein a respective guarantee tongue (6) is arranged on two opposite sides of the lid.
 5. The box as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guarantee tongue (6) has a trapezoidal form, it being hinged on the lid (2) by the shorter parallel side of the trapezoid.
 6. The box as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer contour of the guarantee tongue (6) is identical to the outer contour of the retaining opening (7).
 7. The box as claimed in claim 1, wherein the retaining opening (7) is cut out of the side flap (5) such that a hinge section (11) hinged on the side flap remains in the retaining opening and can be pushed in together with the guarantee tongue (6).
 8. The box as claimed in claim 1, wherein a respective side flap (5 a, 5 a′) is arranged on opposite sides of the opening (3) and wherein the lid (2) has two guarantee tongues (5), each of which cooperates with a retaining opening (7) in each side flap.
 9. The box as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lid is hinged on one side wall and has an insertion tongue (12).
 10. The box as claimed in claim 1, which is a folding box produced from a single blank of material (14) by folding and adhesive bonding operations.
 11. The box as claimed in claim 1, which consists of cardboard or laminated cardboard.
 12. The box as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guarantee tongue (6) can be arrested in the retained position (RP) by a blocking tab (19) assigned to the side flap (5) and/or a side wall (4). 